UPDATE: July 28 – The District Attorney’s Office has dropped their case against Casillas-Flores, citing a lack of evidence. Information about the shooting continues to come in, with witnesses saying a conflict between two groups partying inside the Spoontonic Lounge eventually spilled out into the street and ended in gunfire. A social media post from the lounge’s owners maintained that all efforts were taken to ensure the safety of patrons at the club that night.
ORIGINAL:
Police in Walnut Creek announced an arrest in a recent murder, taking a Brentwood man into custody and their case before the district attorney today.
Investigators said they arrested Jose Guillermo Casillas-Flores, 22, on Thursday during a traffic stop in an unidentified area. A handgun and ammunition were seized during a search of his residence, police said.
No additional suspects are outstanding, according to investigators.
Casillas-Flores is in custody on suspicion of the murder of Lutfi Abbushi, 25, of San Pablo – killed during a flurry of gunfire outside the Spoontonic Lounge in the city July 18.
Solid work by law enforcement.
How terribly sad for the families of the victim and suspect alike. If the color sticks, this young man will (rightly) die — or at least grow quite elderly — behind bars. There will be at least two empty chairs at thanksgiving. The three surviving victims will suffer months of excruciating rehabilitation, a lifetime of pain, emotional trauma and potentially irreversible debilitating injuries. In addition to crippling medical bills, the surviving victims and their dependents will likely incur weeks, perhaps months of lost wages and may find an eviction notice awaiting their return home from hospital. All around tragic and senseless.
Fortunately, WCPD has the experience and sufficient resources to vigorously investigate serious violence.
Notwithstanding the city’s recent uptick in serious crime, it remains an unfavorable jurisdiction for criminal undertakings. Violent crime in Walnut Creek gets solved and the perpetrators prosecuted. Though my connections to the area’s criminal subculture is quite attenuated these days, it remains my understanding that professional criminals are reticent to ply their trade in the city of walnuts.
We’ll see how they charge it. One count of Murder, three counts of attempted Murder, and possibly related charges. WCPD is able to devote resources because murder is still a relatively rare occurrence here.
On the flip side to your comments, criminals know there are valuable goods, cars, money, electronics, & jewelry in Walnut Creek, Danville, and Lamorinda. Some of it minimally protected. Hence criminals from Tracy, East County, and East Bay know where to look.
@Mark – It doesn’t appear robbery that this was a botched robbery. Shooting four people in a parking lot or back ally after midnight is not part of a sound business model for a rational thief.
Lamenting about the hypothetical risk of theft of martial goods in a thread about an actual violent outburst that left one man dead and and three other people seriously wounded epitomizes the callous inhumanity that I’ve come to loath about the old timers out here.
Was it worth it?